


Of Anxieties and Coffee Dates

by winterisakiller (sparkinside)



Series: Last Minutes &  Lost Evenings [4]
Category: British Actor RPF, Tom Hiddleston - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-11-25
Packaged: 2019-08-29 09:28:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,207
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16741387
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sparkinside/pseuds/winterisakiller
Summary: It was just coffee. Only coffee. There was no reason what so ever for his nervousness but yet here he was.





	Of Anxieties and Coffee Dates

**Author's Note:**

> Here is part four of my Tom/OFC one shot series. This time we are exploring the coffee date mentioned in the last part from Tom's perspective. The idea had been nagging me since I wrote the last part and it was fun getting into Tom's head. Hope you enjoy!

He was nervous; sweaty palm, can’t sit still, ‘ _Dear God what I have done? _’ nervous. And it was utterly ridiculous. He was just taking her out for coffee; it wasn’t exactly a marriage proposal or even the start of something remotely serious, there was absolutely no reason for him to feel this way. But he did. And it was driving him nearly to distraction.__

____

____

Luke had been the first to pick up on Tom’s less than stoic demeanor and in his usual roundabout way worked to needle the reason out of his client. With the chaos that the previous summer and its fallout had brought, Luke had taken a much keener interest in Tom’s comings and goings. It was both a blessing and a curse. 

“I’m fine, seriously,” Tom reassured, doing his best to ignore the incredulous look his publicist shot him. 

“And I’m the bloody Queen.” Tom could not fight the smirk that spread across his features which earned him a knowing glare from Luke. “Not a word, Hiddleston. Not one word.” 

Tom threw his hands up, laughing. “I didn’t say a thing.” 

“And you better not. But in all seriousness, what is going on with you? You’re not you today. You’re making me anxious just looking at you.” 

Tom ran a shaky hand through his already mused hair and offered a loose smile, “I’m seeing someone. Or well not seeing them, seeing them. We’re meeting for coffee. It’s nothing. I’m just being ridiculous…” his voice trailed off, the smile on his face turning sheepish as he realized how badly he’d been rambling. 

“So if my Tom-speak is up to scratch,” Luke inferred, chuckling as Tom rolled his eyes, “what I’m understanding is you’ve met someone you’re interested in and now your nerves are getting the better of you,” He laughed, patting Tom heartily on the shoulder. “And how did you meet?” 

Tom sighed and rubbed his hands on his thighs. “She dropped her glove on the tube. I returned it. We talked, I got a call, she left. I bumped into her again in a bookshop. We talked again. I asked her for coffee. She’s just…It’s nothing really.” He shrugged, unsure who he was trying to convince. And knowing his continued rambling did little to help. 

Luke’s eyes narrowed a fraction. Such a small change that Tom wasn’t completely sure he hadn’t imagined it. “And she knows about you?” 

Tom chuckled despite himself as the memory of her blurted words and subsequent embarrassment flitted through his mind. “She does.” 

Luke frowned slightly, “You’re sure meeting up with this woman, someone you don’t really know, is the best idea?” 

Tom stiffened at Luke’s quiet censure. “It’s just coffee, Luke.” 

“Just be careful.” 

Tom did not let himself focus on what had been implied in that statement. There were times Luke grated his last nerve with his concern, warranted or not. He knew better than most the need for caution. Especially after the disaster his last relationship had turned out to be. 

But this wasn’t anything. Not really. Yes, she intrigued him. She was attractive, smart, funny. But it was just coffee. As much as he was growing to like Rosemary, he honestly wasn’t sure he was ready for anything concrete. _It’s just fucking coffee. Get a grip_. 

The rest of the morning drug on with the same painful slowness. He had always hated these planning meetings. All of the sitting around and playing nice on conference call after conference call tended to drive him round the bend. He knew how important they were to his career, but that knowledge did little to make them easier to bare. Adding to that his distraction and worry about Rosemary and their probably not a date date and it took all he had not to weep with joy when Luke told him they were calling it a day. 

He was a bundle of nerves on the journey back home, knee bouncing impatiently as he counted the stops until his own. Tom would periodically glance at his watch, mentally counting down the time until he had to be at the small café a block and a half from _Stories Untold_. In all honesty he couldn’t remember the walk from the station to his front door. One minute he was exiting the ticketing barrier and the next he was sliding his key into the lock on his front door. 

Once inside he found himself pacing aimlessly around his living room, tugging at his shirt and running his fingers through his hair. He toyed briefly with the idea of going for a run to clear his head but knew that with the way his thoughts had been jumbled he would probably take far too long and risk being late or worse having to skip a shower not be so. And while he knew his personality could work miracles, he doubted it would do much to overpower the fresh hell that was him post run. 

With a sigh, he dropped himself onto the couch, pulling his phone from his pocket. He forced himself to muck about, catching up on his email and with the comings and goings of the world. Anything that would work as a distraction. Unconsciously he found himself opening his messaging program and staring at the conversation he’d had with Rosemary. 

They had exchanged a handful of messages throughout the past week. Mostly logistical, trying to mesh their schedules had been a far greater task than either had envisioned. Between meetings, inventories, and sick employees nothing they had planned seemed to come to pass. 

He stared at the phone, messaging program open, cursor blinking accusingly. He started several messages canceling their ‘date’ only to delete each one in turn. What kind of asshole cancels last minute? 

_Apparently this asshole_. 

He clicked out of the messaging program and tossed the phone onto the couch beside him, putting his head in his now free hands and groaned. It was by sheer dumb luck that they both had this particular afternoon free. And now here he was contemplating backing out. _Like a complete and utter wanker_. 

The phone chimed causing him to very nearly jump out of his skin. _A text. It’s just a bloody text_. He sighed and laughed at his own skittishness. _God, what is wrong with me?_ He blindly grabbed for the phone and hit the side button which brought the screen to life. His eyes caught Rosemary’s name and he felt his heart stutter. Swiping the alert open, he quickly read the message she’d sent. 

‘ _So sorry but I have to cancel. We’ve had a bit of a cock up with the latest delivery and I need to spend the rest of the afternoon with the dispatchers letting my annoyance be known. Again so sorry. Maybe tomorrow?_ ’ 

Tom couldn’t fight the frown that crossed his face. True, he had been debating on cancelling their get together, but the fact that she had been the one to back out hurt. It was ridiculously selfish and self-centered of him and he bloody well knew it, but he couldn’t help wondering if she had come up with her excuse as a way of letting him down gently. Which was ludicrous. Her excuse was a valid one. He did not know much about Rosemary, admittedly, but he knew that she lived and breathed that shop. It was clear in the way she had talked about it, the way her eyes lit up and she rambled on. It was a trait he himself knew he possessed when talking about something he was genuinely passionate about. 

He took a few moments to compose himself before responding. ‘ _I understand. Hope you give them what-for. I’ll have to check my schedule. We’ll figure something out._ ’ He hit send and immediately regretted his word choice. _We’ll figure something out?_ He rubbed his eyes in exasperation, _I sound like a fucking prat_. 

But there was little he could do about it now. If he tried to explain himself he feared he’d only dig himself in further. 

His phone chimed again. ‘ _Okay._ ’ 

Well fuck. 

——

_What am I doing?_ The thought echoed in his mind as he made his way into Rosemary’s bookshop, two coffees in hand. He had nearly turned around a dozen times since leaving his house on a stupid whim after receiving her stark response.

It had seemed so glaringly obvious as he’d made his way out the door. They couldn’t meet but he could always go to her. It was comical, the complete turnabout he’d taken. From convincing himself that meeting with her was a terrible idea to knowing with absolute certainty that he needed to see her. 

But as he made his way into the shop he found himself once again questioning just what the hell he was playing at. 

“Well hello.”

Tom’s attention snapped to the counter. Behind it stood a tall redhead with a bright smile and a gleam in her eye that made him more than a little uneasy. “Hello, I’m looking for Rosemary…”

The redhead continued to smile at him, her smile growing by the moment. “Of course you are.” She laughed, shaking her head. “She’s in the back.” She pointed towards the back of the store. “Go on.”

He nodded in thanks and made his way towards the doorway that would lead, he assumed, to the storeroom and office. He could her the murmur of Rosemary’s voice as he drew closer to the office. Annoyance and exasperation were clear in her tone. 

“Well that’s not good enough.” She groaned. “No, I really don’t care, nor frankly do I believe, that the order got lost in the post….No, that is not good enough. I need those packages here by the end of the week at the absolute latest…That’s not my problem.” She paused, “Fine. If they aren’t you will most certainly be hearing from me.” He heard the phone slam against its receiver followed by a deep sigh. 

He stepped boldly into the office, coffees at the ready. “I come in peace.”

Rosemary started, hand clapping against her chest. “Tom?!” 

Tom smiled sheepishly. Scaring her hadn’t been his intent. “I figured since you couldn’t come for coffee I could bring the coffee to you.” He placed her cup on the corner of the desk. He then fished several sachets of sugar and small containers of creamer from his pockets and set them beside the cup with a shrug. “I didn’t know how you take it so…”

Rosemary’s smile was blinding. “Thank you.” She grabbed the to go cup and removed its lid. She then grabbed to sachets of sugar and a container of cream, emptying them into her cup with practiced ease. He stored that knowledge away. _For next time_. 

She gestured Tom to take the open chair on the opposite side of the desk. He pulled the chair closer to Rosemary’s and settled himself. “I take it things aren’t running as smoothly as you’d like.” He gestures briefly at the phone and the stack of papers on the desk before her. 

“Not really.” She took a sip of her coffee. “I’ve honestly had better days.”

Tom nodded, “That I can certainly understand. I hope all will be as it should soon.”

He watched as she fiddled with the empty creamer container. The fact that she appeared just as nervous as he had been was heartening. She quickly seemed to catch herself, tossing the container in the nearby wastebasket and settling her hands firmly in her lap. “Thank you. For the coffee, I mean. I felt awful canceling on you like that. Especially at the last minute.”

He smiled, “Trust me, I understand last minute emergencies. I’ve had to cancel many a date when shooting or rehearsal ran longer than expected.” 

She frowned slightly and he could have kicked himself. _Way to sound like a prat, Tom, nicely done._

“I mean…” 

She waved off his explanation. “No, I know what you mean. But still, thank you all the same.”

“I’m glad. I really did want to see you again.” He didn’t know where the words were coming from but he couldn’t deny the truth in them. Despite everything, he truly had wanted to see her again. To get the chance to know her better. To talk with her. 

She blushed, ducking her head slightly behind the coffee cup in her hand. “I really wanted to see you again too,” she admitted. 

They sat and talked until their coffees had long since gone cold. They talked about their mutual love of books. About living in the city. Places they’d been and places they wanted to go. About plays and movies. About just about everything that seemed to pass through their minds. 

It was effortless between them in a way Tom hadn’t experienced in too long a time. He felt as though he could have sat with her in that tiny office for the rest of time and been completely content. 

As he walked back towards the underground and home, Tom found himself feeling truly excited once more. He had no idea where this would lead but he knew with absolute certainty that Rosemary was someone he didn’t want to be without.


End file.
